Business intelligence provides government agencies with many benefits including improved effectiveness, reduced budgets, and operational efficiencies. Our state and local governments consist of many different agencies. Let’s look at some of the benefits business intelligence provides.
Using big data to identify trends as well as other insights, government agencies improve decision making. By streamlining analytical tools and technologies to generate real-time data, these decisions are made quicker. If business intelligence software did not provide this information, executives would have to use the old guessing game or avoid making a decision at all.
Government agencies can possibly identify and eliminate fraud and abuse by the people or parties they serve. Additionally, inefficiencies that are identified using business intelligence can eradicate internal waste.
Utilizing the right tools and with the proper training, non-technical employees can work with large amounts of data to find information, delivery improved services, and make decisions supporting individual tasks.
Big data allows government agencies to provide data to the public. This is important because citizens are afforded the opportunity to understand the information the government collects. Agencies are also able to offer information as a service, such as a census information, weather information, online tax records, property liens, and more.
Unnecessary steps cost our government money. This actually means it costs you – the taxpayer – money. Using big data to identify these unnecessary steps, they can be reduced and eliminated based on the data. These inefficiencies can be anything from hiring too many employees to not repairing roads on time.
Law enforcement, homeland security officials, and intelligence analysts are able to analyze big data to pinpoint criminal activities and detect hidden information to aid in identifying security threats. Law enforcement agencies are able to get a head start on criminals by using top-of-the-line analytics to identify criminals, potentially before a crime is ever committed. Data analytics allow law enforcement agencies to take a preventative approach to crime.
At its core, business intelligence big data solutions are about making better use of the data generated. By extension, the return on IT investments is improved. Consolidating data silos and analytical tools have the potential to reduce the total cost of ownership (TOC) for government organizations.
Perhaps the biggest benefit of a business intelligence system in state and local governments is making it easier for citizens to complete business decisions that used to take hours. For example, applying for disability used to be a three-month ordeal that involved going to the Social Security Administration numerous times. Today, disability can be applied for online. Social Security then gets the ball rolling by contacting physicians, specialists, and everyone else necessary to approve or deny a disability application. The application process is made much easier for an individual who is already disabled.
Additionally, paying property taxes, child support information, and even absentee ballot forms can all be obtained simply by going online to your local or state government agency.
The value of business intelligence in our state and local government agencies is immeasurable. It improves the efficiency of the agencies themselves and makes the process of dealing with the government more pleasant for everyone.